The Perfect Match
by JakOvsumTrade
Summary: Astoria Greengrass was sick of living in the past. Harry Potter was sick of walking the path others had set up for him. One longs for the freedom she knew and lost, while the other pines for the freedom he never had. Dissatisfied with their lives, they hatch a plan to escape. Neither believed that they would go through with it. "Don't bother looking for us."


AN: Big update coming to **Mirror of Erised** and **The Cupboard Club** that will hopefully answer all your questions. New story also in the works that I am very excited which is not this one. This is just a one shot to clear my head.

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Disclaimer: I don't own **Harry Potter**, obviously.

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_And you know that when the truth is told / That you can get what you want or you can just get old - Vienna, Billy Joel._

* * *

"Greengrass."

"Potter. I'm surprised you know who I am."

"I remember you from the Battle. You were fighting on our side. The list of those who died isn't the only one I run through each night."

"What about the people from the other side?"

"Why do you think none of them are here today?"

"You got to them already?"

"First thing I did."

For a while they just stood there and stared at each other, but the silence didn't last long. Harry had not been patient in his youth and definitely was not a patient man. He raised his glass of firewhiskey to his mouth, drained it, and then as his throat still burned from the flames asked, "Why are you here Greengrass?"

"Well, it wouldn't be proper for me not to come what with my family and fiance being here."

"Ah, yes, Malfoy. But that's not what I meant. Why are you here talking to me instead of politicking with your fiance, seeing as how you brought him up."

Astoria looked over her shoulder to where she could see Draco talking with various Lords and Ladies of the Wizengamot. He really was a great catch, any pureblood girl would be lucky to be on his arm. She should be delighted that he chose her. Daphne certainly was, Father too. A life with Draco would be easy, all her needs taken care of and her wants met. She'd have money, fame, and power, all through her husband but that was more than most people got.

"I'm waiting."

"Shut up, I'm trying to figure out how to explain it."

"Well, I guess I can wait a bit longer."

Draco loved her, she knew it. And though she didn't feel the same she could learn to love him over time. That's what her Father always told her. But there was still something there, in the dark corner of her mind, almost suppressed but still alive.

"Back at Hogwarts, you were shrouded in mystery. Every year something would happen to you that no one actually knew about but everyone heard whispers of. Daphne told me how you fought a troll as a first year, and how Quirrell disappeared and you earned hundreds of points out of nowhere at the end of the year. About the Chamber of Secrets opening in your second year, people being petrified in the halls, blood on the walls. How at the end of the year you crawled back with the kidnapped Weasley, covered in grime and blood but victorious. I saw your patronus in your third year, how you fended off all those dementors with a spell most grown wizards can't even manage.

"I watched you in the Tournament, and when you came back carrying Diggory's dead body and shouting that the Dark Lord had returned, my heart jumped into my throat. My Father believed you, at least enough to set up contingency plans and that was enough for me. Then there was Umbridge, the Dark Lord revealing himself at the ministry, Death Eaters invading Hogwarts, and you disappeared. Then you died. I saw your dead body. But somehow, you came back.

"Your life has been non stop adventure, and maybe you are sick of it, and maybe this will seem really inconsiderate to you, but I guess I just want some of that before it's too late."

Harry swirled the firewhiskey the elves had refilled his glass with, watching it go round and round like his thoughts before he drained it like he always did after the war. No savoring the taste, just feeling the burn. "Stick with me," he said, "and you'll have more adventure than you'd ever want."

* * *

Astoria Greengrass still remembered her younger days. She looked back at them fondly almost all of her waking moments. Days spent wild and free. Days before her Mother died, taking the light inside her Father and Daphne with her. Days before Daphne took her aside one day to tell her in no uncertain terms that her behavior was drawing unwanted attention. Days before the Dark Lord covered all she knew in a shroud of fear. Days before her Father shoved her into the limelight to find a suitable match and bring honor to the family. Days before Draco proposed, taken by her beauty. Days before she said yes because the fact that she found Draco boring was not enough to say no. Days before everyone gushed at the future Lady Malfoy while she tried to not fall into despair at the thought of having to be a proper lady for the rest of her life.

But most of all, Astoria remembered the one night of burning passion spent with a familiar stranger and all the promises they had made, never really expecting to keep any of them. Getting away from her family and Draco has been a challenge but when she saw him look so dejected, standing there in the shadows she just had to get closer. She had never been able to control her curiosity, especially not when the Wizarding World's biggest riddle wrapped in an enigma was standing on his own right before her.

Astoria Greengrass was sick of living in the past. She was ready to form some new memories.

* * *

"We probably shouldn't have done this."

"Probably not."

"You're engaged."

"I am."

Harry rolled over to look at her as she stared at the ceiling, taken aback by her seeming indifference, "How can you be so nonchalant about this? It feels like I care more than you do and you're the one actually in a relationship."

"I do care. It's just, well, this was the happiest I've been in a long time. I trying to just bask in it for now and not think about anything else."

Now that was something Harry could empathise with. Even after the war, happiness did not come easy or often. "Does Malfoy not treat you well?"

"No, he treats me kind. He really does love me, you know? I can see it in his eyes when he looks at me. Even when he thinks I don't notice, that's how I know it's real."

"But you don't love him." It wasn't a question.

Astoria finally turned to face Harry, "No, I don't. There's nothing of substance to Draco. Just money and the Malfoy name." She shrugged, or at least tried to but didn't really succeed since she was lying on her side, "Pureblood society says he's everything I should want but. . . there's a whole world out there and I want it all."

After considering that for a moment Harry felt it was only fair to share a little about himself too, "You told me my life was non stop adventure." Harry sat up and leaned back against the headrest, prompting Astoria to follow his lead. They were still naked from their earlier activities and sitting upright let the blanket roll off their chests. Harry was distracted for a moment before he caught Astoria's eyes, saw the smug smile in them and quickly looked away before continuing.

"From an outside perspective it certainly looks that way, and I guess I can sort of agree. But the truth is, it never felt like an adventure when I was going through it. At least, not my adventure. Since before I was even born, my life was put on rails by a stupid prophecy. It didn't matter if I didn't care about it because Dumbledore and Voldemort sure did. Dumbledore. . . I talked to his portrait after the battle. It told me everything. Guess his secrets stopped mattering to him once he died.

"He was planning on training me originally, making me capable of taking on Voldemort head to head, if with support from him and his followers. But then he noticed the Horcrux in my scar, a piece of Voldemort's soul that would keep him from truly dying, and decided that what the prophecy really meant was that Voldemort would kill me and thereby bring his own downfall. He set me up to die. All those adventures, all those moments you find yourself envious of, were just plots to make me acclimated with almost dying. To make me believe risking and very likely losing my life to save someone else, anyone else, is worth it."

"It sounds like you didn't have much of a childhood."

"Childhood?" A snort, "Dumbledore couldn't sacrifice a child for his Greater Good. Instead he turned me into something less, something baser. No one says it, but I can see how I make people uncomfortable. Even Hermione and Ron look at me like they don't know what I am at times. Until I was four years old, I thought my name was Freak. Sometimes I think that's more fitting than Harry after all."

"Well, why don't you go find yourself, or whatever?"

"Huh?"

"Dumbledore is dead. The Dark Lord is dead. No one can control you now if you don't let them. So why don't you just go and do all the things you always wanted but never could?"

* * *

Harry Potter still remembered his younger days. He saw them again each night in his nightmares. Days spent locked up and alone. Days when people would point, whisper, cheer, and curse at him as he walked by. Days running through Hogwarts needing to do everything himself because no one would believe him. Days being tortured in his own mind by an unstable Dark Lord and a vindictive Professor. Days being Public Enemy Number One, on the run from Snatchers and worse. Days when he was pulled out of his office to be paraded about as the Ministry's personal attack dog on a leash. Days when his friends felt uncomfortable around him and the things he would say about Dumbledore or Shacklebolt. Days spent alone in Grimmauld Place with nothing but old ghosts for company, slowly losing his grip on his already frayed sanity.

But above all that, Harry remembered the one night of no pretenses spent with a glowing angel who had made him feel alive as he never had before. At least one good thing came out of those balls he was forced to attend. He'd been following his usual formula, show up and smile until he could extricate himself to a quiet corner and then leave the moment it became socially acceptable. Not that he really cared about what was acceptable or proper, but easier to be mannerly than to have to deal with Hermione's lectures later.

Harry Potter was sick of walking the path others had set up for him. He was ready to lead his own life.

* * *

Twin cracks of apparition heralded the appearance of a witch and wizard on a deserted beach overlooking the Channel.

"Harry, you actually came. I was hoping you would, but didn't imagine I'd actually see you here."

"I almost didn't. But there is only one thing keeping me here and there isn't much I can do for him beyond giving him gold anyways. I don't know the first thing about proper child care, Dumbledore made sure of that."

Silence reigned between them as they watched the waves lap at the shore.

"I feel kind of pathetic. I shouldn't have slept with you that night."

"I'm glad we did, but I agree with you. No matter how I feel about Malfoy he doesn't deserve this. We could have gone about this better."

"I said I felt pathetic, not regretful. And how else could we have done this?"

"And we could have told people we were leaving instead of just leaving notes. I could have said goodbye to my godson. You could have let Malfoy down gently."

"Merlin, Harry, you're naive. You think they would have just let us go? Just like that? The Vanquisher of the Dark Lord and a pureblood girl of marrying age from a respected family? Best case we would have been put on house arrest until we swore to never leave the Isles. You probably could have fought off whoever they'd have sent after you, but that would only have made you a criminal. I-I wouldn't stand that same chance. I want to say that Daph and Father would never do that to me, that they wouldn't feed me potions or compulsion charms until I wasn't myself anymore, but lately I'm finding that I don't know them as well as I thought I did."

Harry clutched the shrunken trunk in his pocket tightly, trying to find fault in Astoria's argument but not being able to. In truth, he knew she was right, had already known. It was not an easy thing to consider though, so he tried not to think about it. Soon he wouldn't need to, would never need to again. Harry Potter was through with being controlled.

"I think it's time to go."

* * *

**MAN-WHO-CONQUERED VANISHES, TAKES SCHOOL RIVAL'S FIANCE ALONG**

_Harry Potter, the Hero of Hogwarts, vanished some time two days ago. Fellow Aurors were already suspicious yesterday morning when he did not arrive for work. Auror Bones, niece of one-time DMLE Director Amelia Bones, said, "Harry hasn't been late, let alone missed a day since he started. Even when he was sick he would come in and do paperwork instead of just floo calling like everyone else."_

_When his shift finished without any sightings or word from Potter, his friends and co-workers began to worry. When they attempted to visit his home they found it locked with the wards up and only a small note stuck to the front door:_

_To my godson Teddy:_

_Of all the things I'm leaving behind you're the only one that made me reconsider. I know what it's like to grow up without parents and a missing godfather. I wouldn't wish it on anyone, let alone you. You are the most precious thing in the world to me. Perhaps it is not fair of me to place the burden entirely on your grandmother, but I think she understands why I have to do this. I hope one day you will also understand. The Potter and Black fortunes are waiting for you to claim them. Please forgive me._

_To my friends, those who have supported me through thick and thin:_

_I forgive you. I don't want there to be things left unsaid between us, so I forgive you. For all the times you didn't stand by me. For all the times you acted on what you thought was best for me without asking. For all the times you neglected me when I clearly needed you. I forgive you. I've been doing a lot of thinking lately, and I realized all the righteous anger I carried everywhere with me was burning no one but myself. So I learned to forgive. I forgive you. Can you learn to forgive yourselves?_

_And finally, to the Wizarding World at large:_

_My friends I forgive, but all the rest of you I have nothing but disdain for. Thousands of you out there and yet where was the resistance against [You-Know-Who]? You had thirteen years between when I defeated him the first time to when I said he had returned to clean your government of his sympathizers. Fourteen if you count the year he spent in hiding. And yet how long did it take for him to topple the ministry from the inside? Two months. I spit at you, wizards and witches of Britain. Next time there's a Dark Lord, don't sit on your hands waiting for a school boy to defeat him. Be glad I won't be that Dark Lord, Merlin knows it was a close thing. Don't wait for me to come back. And don't bother looking for us._

_We asked Hermione Granger, Senior Undersecretary of Minister Shacklebolt, and Ron Weasley, Keeper for the Chudley Cannons, as Harry Potter's closest friends for any insight as to why he would do this. They refused to comment._

_But the story gets better, for at the same time the noble family of Greengrass was in a panic searching for their lost daughter, Astoria Greengrass, who was set to marry war-hero Draco Malfoy next month. They gave up after they had searched all of Greengrass and Malfoy manors several times over when Heiress Daphne Greengrass, Astoria's sister, asked their house elf if he could find Astoria. Apparently before leaving she had ordered the elf to not track her and to give her family the following note:_

_To Father and Daph:_

_I'm sorry to have put you through this, but I won't take back my actions. I believe in my current course and mother always told me to follow my convictions. I guess all your worst fears about me are true, huh, Father? Mother's coddling really did give me unreasonable ideas. Daph, I know this is going to make things harder on you but I am sure you can handle it. You're not the same sister I remember. Politics has changed you into one of them. I wasn't happy with that life, never would be, but I hope you are. It would deeply sadden me if you were as miserable as I was and still insisted on continuing as you are. Don't worry about leaving me gold, I visited Gringotts and withdrew enough to tide me over for a long time. _

_To Draco:_

_I'm sorry. I know you love me but I don't feel the same way and I don't think I ever will. It might seem callous and you might disagree for now, but I honestly think you would be happier with someone else. Someone more settled. Someone without my wanderlust. I hope you don't hold this against my family. I would ask you not to hold this against me and Harry too, but I think that's too much. You can hate us if you like. Nonetheless, I have left. I'm not ready to give up my life. Not yet. Not when I've barely lived it. _

_Heiress Greengrass had this to say: "Astoria, wherever you are, please come back. I'm not sure what exactly you're chasing after but you won't find it out there with Potter. If you're worried about the wedding you really shouldn't be. You and Draco are the perfect match. Just come home soon, alright?" Heir Malfoy did not comment._

* * *

"I don't think I've ever heard anything so perfect sounding before in my life. Let's get out of here."

"So, where to first? What do you want to see?"

"Why, Harry, didn't you hear me? I want everything!"


End file.
